I'm a journalist who's especially interested in the business and politics of wine. My writing and photographs have appeared in print, online, and on the radio for outlets including BBC America, Decanter, The Atlantic, DailyBeast, Worth magazine, Food52.com, the Boston Globe and the Washington Post. I have worked for some of the world’s most celebrated chefs, including Thomas Keller, Alice Waters, and Jean-Pierre Vigato. I am also the founder of Harvard Alumni in Wine and Food. I travel the world in search of the generous spirit – and the pure joy! – of true hospitality.

Zig When The Others Zag: How To Win In Wine, Part Four

This is the fourth in a series of case studies that looks at the category of urban wineries as a business model. Our previous posts considered factors such as high volume, targeted marketing, diverse revenue streams, and tightly restricted budgeting. Today we look at the Teutonic Wine Company, who make a successful practice out of doing exactly what they are not expected to do.

A quick glance at winemaker Barnaby Tuttle and it’s clear that he isn’t one for trends.

Tuttle, co-founder with his wife Olga of Oregon-based Teutonic Wine Company, sports an elaborate mustache. He’s the tallest guy in the room. He likes to lob potentially volatile conversation topics to near-strangers, as though gauging some threshold of how entertaining they may or may not be.

It’s all done with a generous sense of humor. But the intelligence backing up Tuttle’s mannerisms indicate a well-considered individuality – in person and in business – that drives the Teutonic Wine Company’s success.

“We’re the opposite of a business run by a focus group,” said Barnaby Tuttle over dinner one evening in Portland a few weeks ago. That’s just the first indicator that the couple break their own trail, sensible rules of entrepreneurialism aside.

What are the others?

The Tuttles buy grapes – like Sylvaner – that no one else wants.

They grow grapes – like Pinot Noir – on high-elevation vineyards that everyone else thinks is a bad bet.

They throw the spotlight onto grapes – like Chasselas – the everyone else blends away into other wines.

They make their own cool climate, German-style wines whose grapes, practically by definition, are hard to grow, pronounce, and sell. They also import wines with the same profile from the Mosel Valley of Germany.

Barnaby and Olga Tuttle, co-founders of Teutonic Wine Company, have built their business doing exactly what others advised them not to. Photo Credit: Farm to Fork Event Co.

The common denominator here, and Teutonic’s recipe for success, is to do what no one else is doing and do it twice as well.

It’s a combination of desire (which they have in spades) and money (which they don’t). “We do it the hard way,” Olga Tuttle said, “because that’s what we can afford to do.”

Labor in the vineyard is the most physically demanding part. Barnaby Tuttle describes planting a vineyard, and crawling four hours on his knees to prune it in the wintertime. “I had blisters on my knees,” he said. “You have to be humble, but that’s the reality when we’re competing against hobby wineries and corporate wineries. The only way we win the battle is by working harder and smarter.”

Barnaby Tuttle describes his first taste of Mosel Riesling as “electric, mineralic, and like liquid rock” in his mouth. That may or may not sound appealing to a general audience, but the Tuttles are betting on the distinct appeal of wines with an extraordinary sense of place.

Olga Tuttle remembers her husband’s first attempts to make wines in typical Mosel style, that is, with lighter body, lower alcohol content, and higher acidity. “Many of his colleagues cautioned him not to do this and that these wines wouldn’t sell,” she said. “He was very torn between making wine in the style his loves and [making wine in] the style of wines that were typical to the Oregon market.”

Post Your Comment

Post Your Reply

Forbes writers have the ability to call out member comments they find particularly interesting. Called-out comments are highlighted across the Forbes network. You'll be notified if your comment is called out.